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Below are details taken directly from Consumer Reports, but the basics are this:

80% of the population suffers from Back pain (so yes there is a lucky 20% who don’t), and out of those who suffer, 88% claim it is re-occurring

Chiropractic is rated the best choice in care options by consumers with back pain

Massage and Exercise Rehab is also rated very effective

Medications and Drugs were only 22% effective!

Dr. LeGault offers two of the top choices for the most effective care in Sewickley and the surrounding area:

Chiropractic

Exercise rehabilitation and counseling

Call today and end the suffering. Discover YOUR 100%.

412-259-3828

“About 80 percent of the adults in the U.S. have been bothered by back pain at some point. The Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center recently surveyed more than 14,000 subscribers who experienced lower-back pain in the past year but never had back surgery. More than half said the pain severely limited their daily routine for a week or longer, and 88 percent said it recurred throughout the year.

Lower-back pain disrupts many aspects of life. In our survey, 46 percent said that it interfered with their sleep, 31 percent reported that it thwarted their efforts to maintain a healthy weight, and 24 percent said that it hampered their sex life.

Where to go for treatment?

A surprising number of the lower-back-pain sufferers we surveyed said they were disappointed with what their primary-care doctor could do to help. Although many of our respondents who saw a primary-care doctor left dissatisfied, primary-care doctors can write prescriptions and give referrals for hands-on treatments that might be covered by health insurance. When back pain goes on and on, many people go to see a primary-care doctor. While this visit may help rule out any serious underlying disease, a prescription based solution affects long-term quality of life.

Who helped the most?

The percentage of people highly (completely or very) satisfied with their back-pain treatments and advice varied by practitioner visited.

Professional —————– Highly satisfied

Chiropractor 59%

Physical therapist 55%

Acupuncturist 53%

Physician, specialist 44%

Physician, primary-care doctor 34%

Source: Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center

Patients with lower-back pain are faced with a confusing list of options. Our survey respondents tried an average of five or six different treatments over the course of just a year. We asked them to rate a comprehensive list of remedies (available to subscribers) and had enough data to rate 23 treatments. We analyzed the medical evidence for each and came up with recommendations and cautions. Here are some highlights from our survey findings:

Spinal injections (available to subscribers) were rated just below chiropractic treatments by those who took our survey. Fifty-one percent of the respondents found them to be very helpful, although the techniques their doctors used varied. Prescription medications (available to subscribers), which one-third of our respondents said they took, were rated as beneficial by 45 percent of them. Almost 70 percent said they took an over-the-counter medication, but only 22 percent said the drugs were very helpful. Fifty-eight percent told us they wished they had done more exercising to strengthen their backs.Although lower-back pain is the fifth most common reason people go to a doctor, 35 percent of the people in our survey said they had never consulted a professional. Most of them had severely limiting pain for less than a week. Many of those with more prolonged pain who didn’t see a health-care professional said,”… it was because of cost concerns or because they did not think professional care could help. “

Sept 29 — Many US Olympic athletes striving for gold in Sydney, Australia, will be using a secret weapon to help achieve their goals — chiropractic care. Many athletes use chiropractic not only for rehabilitation purposes, but also because they feel it gives them an edge in their competitions.

Dr. Andrew Klein, the official chiropractor for the 2000 US Olympic medical staff, identified a key reason why athletes have taken to chiropractic: it keeps them in top shape without the use of drugs. “Athletes have come to rely on manual therapy because the list of banned substances (for the Olympics) is so long, and also because they feel it enhances their performance.”

Nicole Freedman of Stanford, California, qualified for the 2000 US Olympic squad as a cyclist at the Olympic Team trials in Jackson, Mississippi, after being adjusted by American Chiropractic Association’s (ACA’s) Mississippi delegate Dr. Alfred Norville. Freedman penned a note to Dr. Norville, thanking him for his “winning adjustment.” Dr. Norville explained, “[Freedman] told me that she thought she needed an adjustment to be at her peak [performance level]. So I gave her an adjustment, and she went on to qualify for the Olympics.”

Dr. Jan Corwin, a past president of ACA’s Council on Sports Injuries and Physical Fitness, became the first doctor of chiropractic to travel overseas with the US Olympic Team in 1988, when he represented the chiropractic profession in Seoul, Korea. The athletes in Seoul were delighted with the chiropractic care they received.

Dr. Corwin said, “They were totally into it. I had so many patients while I was there, I didn’t even have time to eat. By the time I left Seoul I had lost 12 pounds.” Dr. Corwin went on to say, “At least 50% to 75% of all the athletes I treated had prior chiropractic care and were very aware of the benefits of chiropractic to them as athletes.” He suggested that chiropractic care “has been so successfully appreciated and received by the athletes because of all the chiropractors around the country who have been doing such a great job with the athletes in their offices on a daily basis.”

The roster of Olympic athletes who have benefited from chiropractic care is truly impressive. Star performers such as Carl Lewis, Greg Louganis, Willi Banks, Edwin Moses, and countless other greats from previous Olympics have taken advantage of chiropractic in order to get a leg up on their competition.

ACA member Dr. Steven Horwitz served as the chiropractic physician for the U.S. Olympic medical staff at the 1996 Games in Atlanta. Dr. Horwitz found his helping the athletes and the appreciation they showed for his work to be the most rewarding elements about the time he gave to the U.S. team. Sheila Taormina, 1996 U.S. Swimming 4×200 gold medallist, and Marisa Pedulla of the U.S. Judo Team, each took the time to write to Dr. Horwitz and thank him for the care he gave them. He explained that the athletes in Atlanta were so excited about the chiropractic care available to them that, “They wanted to be sure I was there for the American athletes only.” They said to him, “We fought hard to get you here, and we don’t want to give an advantage to the other athletes.”